Department of Defense Releases Law of War Manual

The U.S. Department of Defense's Office of the General Counsel has released its long-awaited Law of War Manual. The greatly anticipated tome is the product of a multi-year effort by military and civilian lawyers to create the first ever, department-wide resource on the principles of international law that govern armed conflict.

According to Defense Department General Counsel Stephen Preston, the 1204-page manual is of "fundamental importance" to the Armed Forces of the United States and will help the Pentagon "remember the hard-learned lessons from the past."

Read the full manual here.